How many of you have dreamed of being a Pioneer - one of those brave people that crossed the continent to settle in the west? I can not lie - I have thought of it ... but now that I know how hard it was... I am a fan of electricity and running water hah!!!
We took a few hours to step back in time at Fort Laramie ( Wyoming) and it was awesome!!! I love reading westerns, and I love hearing how tough people were - but getting a chance to see what life was really like.... amazing!!
Sit back... this is FULL of photos!!
The Stage Lines, The Pony Express and Transcontinental Telegraph lines all passed through here.
This is the Single Soldier Bunkhouse. Its actually very large!
Check out this wagon - can you imagine crossing the plain in that? Truthfully - I think if I laid down my feet would hang out the end!!
They had Four bakeries at one time - they made one 18 ounce loaf of bread per soldier per day - with as many as 700 men at the garrison - Holee cow!!
And did I mention it is hot there? It was 102 when we were there? and Shade is a premium!
The building in front later became a school house
If I counted right - there was a Guardhouse, a Prison, and Jail... Heck fire we were bad people!!!
This is the Guardhouse ( below)
See those tiny cells? They say there were only 5 ft long, but they sure don't look very wide !! I am 5'10" how would I fit???
I am also VERY claustrophobic - I think seeing one of these cells would have put me on the straight and narrow....
This is me Standing in Front of the Guardhouse.
As we kept walking we came to another Jail cell!!!! You walked inside and man, that was rough - but check out the solitary... I threatened Puppy and K... they had better not make trouble!!
Fort Laramie is about 600-700 miles from the Missouri river - depending on where you jumped off to head west. it was one of the only Civilizations wagon trains would come upon between Ft Kearny and the west coast.
This is a photo from one of the Officers Quarters - note the quilt!!! ( Also note that was Happy Half Square Block 24!!!) there really is nothing new under the sun hahahaha!!!
And another... this one is super cool to me!!!
This ( below) is Old Bedlam - supposedly the Oldest standing Building in Wyoming. Its called Old Bedlam because of all the Boisterous noise that came from it ! It was the Bachelors officers Quarters... you can imagine the fun time right?
Just to Prove we were there...and it was hot... we were melting. My Little dog - he is so picky - there was a fresh water bowl there for dogs, and he just looked at it and stuck his nose up. Apparently he can only drink from his water bowl... stinker
THis is what remains of the Old Post Hospital. One would think that with as many jails as there were, and as many wagon trains, Indian raids and just general sickness the Hospital would have been bigger.
This was actually the third location of a hospital on post, and they built this one over a cemetery - so before they could begin building they had to reinter 6 marked graves. Others they worked around, and were left there.
It was a 12 bed facility. in the late 1880's they installed a phone line, so they could actually call the post doctor if needed. it was the only hospital within 100 miles ( in 1880) so they also treated civilians for $1 per day.
Looking at the major part of the post from the Hospital location.
I just thought that was a cool view.
So if you are ever traveling through this area - I would highly recommend a stop. Its pretty cool to see life the way it was, and imagine what traveling would be like. And again - be grateful for modern conveniences!
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10 comments:
It's always fun to imagine yourself in another time and place and wonder how you would hold up--me not so much! lol The quilts are a very cool reminder that a woman's touch is always welcome!
That was a cool history lesson, thanks Alycia. After seeing the mountains in different places I often wonder how the heck did people ever survive going west in wagons! And I think of all the places of people hiding in the mountains when they were hunted. What a time, not sure I would like living it.
I'm glad I behave - those jail cells would be the end of me! Great photos and thanks for all the stories to go with them.
Thanks for the tour! I love that Pineapple quilt, too. Dot
We visited Ft. Laramie about 30 years ago and I still remember it. I, too, was so impressed with the history of the place. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Fort Laramie is a fun place to visit. It does, indeed, get HOT there: can you imagine wearing a wool uniform in that heat?
I can only imagine what traveling west was like in those days.
Visiting Fort Laramie must have been like a trip back in time. Thank you for these sights from there, Alycia. :)
The summers in that part of the country have that dry fierce heat. I remember it well. Folks who lived back then were definitely tough, or they died young. Thanks for sharing such interesting photos.
San / Gypsy Quilter
I love westerns. My favorite is Grit TV. It has lots of the old series. Tales of Wells Fargo is one of my favorite. But maybe is just Dale Robertson I like watching. We visited Laramie in 1987 on a family vacation.
I'm going to forward your post to an architectural history friend. She will be agog!
Glad you had a good time.
And the quilt with one border: makes me think of the old quilts that just had borders on the side 'that would show'.
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